A Driving Force in the Story of Canberra Most Canberrans think of the famous blue, white and orange bus as being synonymous with the national capital. Whether it was going to the shops with mum, fighting over got to sit on the back seat with school friends or catching the old 333 to work, it …

2011 was another big year for ACTION Buses, with the changeover from the dated magnetic tickets to the smartcard based MyWay system, the retirement of over 40 Renault Buses as the new MAN and Scania Buses entered service and industrial action which saw services cancelled on a number of days during April.

2010 was a busy year for ACTION. A new network, new buses, a reopened depot, withdrawal of older buses, the testing of its new Smartcard ticketing system, heated negotiations on enterprise agreements – the list goes on.

February Bus 108 returns to service after suffering accident damage in October 2008. ACTION outsource a number of shuttle services to various events including the Canberra Show and NRL following a union dispute over the number of supervisors put on duty.

February Bus 914 suffers major damage when it collides with a tree and electrical substation on Beaurepaire Crescent in Holt whilst operating Route 44 on 25 February. The only passenger on the bus escaped injury whilst the driver was taken to hospital. You can read further information on the accident and view news footage by …

February MAN SL200 522 was delivered in February 1978. ZIB 518 was fitted with the first production model AES farebox on 28 February. On 28 February five new off-peak routes were introduced to provide a service to the new Belconnen Mall.

February Canberra’s first rear engine buses; and among the first rear engined buses in Australia, were placed in service on 22 February 1968. ZIB 121 & 122, both Hedges bodied AEC Swift MP3Rs were unusual in being manual gearbox Swifts, most other such AEC buses in the world were semi-automatic or fully automatic.